How to Handle Call-Ins

Friday, June 11, 2010

How to Handle Call-Ins

You're sitting there minding your own business, wishing the phone would magically ring and someone would want to give you money....

Well it's not just a dream, it sometimes happens.

Do you know what to do? Art Sobczak does:

Help Them Tell You What They Want

Greetings!

If you handle incoming telephone inquiries
or follow-up on mail-in or web business leads
by phone, keep one thing in mind about these
people: Even though they took the initiative to
contact you, they might not know what they want,
or even which questions to ask you.

It's frustrating when an inquirer tells me,
"Uhh, we're just interested in training,"
and can't be more specific. They called me,
for gosh sakes! I guess that during my hectic
business day, I expect someone who calls me
to tell me exactly what they're looking for.

What a mistake on my part!

I need to realize that sometimes these people
don't know precisely what they want, and
likely aren't even aware of what's available.

It's like when I take my car in for a repair;
I'm mechanically inept, and they usually
realize that when I mumble something about
how "it makes a noise in there somewhere." I
usually have no clue about specifically what
I need, and therefore, I'm a prime candidate
for recommendations. (I am more picky about
where I go though--one guy told me the muffler
fluid was low. $50 isn't too much for muffler
fluid, is it?)

WHAT TO DO
Be careful here. For lack of something
better to say, these folks often start with,
"Well, just tell me what you have." You don't want
to shift into data-dump mode, spewing in
laundry-list fashion everything you sell.
Since that is nothing more than a generic
verbal brochure, it's likely they won't
find anything of interest.

Instead, when you realize you have a prospect
who can't articulate what they're looking for,
be prepared with questions that get them to
open up. Try to first determine the reason
for the call:

"Tell me, what was it that prompted your call?"

"What ion the site caught your eye and persuaded
you to contact us?"

"How did you happen to decide to call us?"

Just think about the great information you
could get here. It could be like unlocking
the dam of information they have inside.

Or you could get, "Uh, I dunno. Just saw
the ad and thought I'd call."

OK. Then we need to focus the microscope a
bit more, and uncover the real reason for
the call...which would be the problem, the
irritation, the annoying pebble in their
shoe--not the solution; that's what they're
looking for from you. Begin questioning
with the big picture, then narrow it down.
Ask about the past:

"What has happened in your department
that helped you determine you needed to
look at additional training?"

"What have you done before that didn't
work as well as you would have liked? What
were those results?"

Ask about the present:
"What are you doing in this area right now?"

"What results are you getting?"

Or, "What do you anticipate?"

When you finally touch a tender area, then
it's time to embellish their answers even
further with additional questions:

"How is that affecting you/the department/
the organization?"

"And then what happened/happens?"

"What is that costing you?"

Then ask about the future. This should
help you determine specifically what
you should recommend:

"What results would you ideally like to see?"

Of course within this framework you'll
also ask your typical qualifying questions
regarding budget, authority, and time frame.
After getting all of this great information,
then you're in a prime position to tell them
what you can do for them, and recommend
your next action, whether it be a sale,
appointment, or simply sending them
information by mail or fax.

People who call you often don't know
exactly what they need. Your questions
help them tell you. And that helps them
sell themselves.